Posted by Kevin
on
26 October 2011
My favorite Bang Bang can be heard here. (Perhaps you’d like to listen as you read this review?) Marc Jacobs Bang Bang was released in August, and compared to the splashy debut of Bang, didn’t even merit a drum-roll, let alone a double-bang. I’ve seen no Bang Bang advertisements in magazines and the fragrance seems to be available only on the Marc Jacobs website in the U.S. — not in any major department stores.
Recently, a Nordstrom perfume sales person told me original Bang was a flop with consumers. (Clerk: “It didn’t smell good. We’re not stocking Bang anymore…and there’s a new Bang?”) All this surprised me — a Nordstrom perfume counter employee dissing a fragrance? Bang, such an original, pert, fun fragrance, a dud?
Bang Bang was developed by perfumer Yann Vasnier and lists notes of lemon, fennel, cardamom, sage, patchouli, sandalwood and cashmere musks.* Ignoring the advice I give others, I bought Bang Bang…unsniffed…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
19 October 2011
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
From Chantecaille, special order bottles decorated with crystals: “This season Chantecaille introduces hand-decorated Swarovski® embellished fragrance bottles. Exclusive and luxurious, these bottles are the creations of the renowned artist Cimon. His fanciful Swarovski® adorned sculptures are collected all over the world. Like a couture gown, each exquisitely decorated bottle may be special ordered in the [sic] and will be received in four weeks.” Available in all of the Chantecaille fragrances; Frangipani is shown. $600 each at Neiman Marcus…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
12 August 2011
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
No, your eyes don’t deceive you, and yes, it’s true, it isn’t really a collector bottle. But so far, we haven’t seen the need to maintain a separate category for toy trucks, and hey, we have to post about it somewhere…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
26 July 2011
Marc Jacobs’ new Oh, Lola! flanker launched fairly recently, and has already ended its brief exclusive-to-Bloomingdales period and is available nearly everywhere. The original Lola fragrance (2009), if you remember, was meant to be Daisy’s (2007) older sister. Oh, Lola! is supposed to be “lively and playful”, and sweeter than Lola, so I’m assuming it’s the middle sister, perhaps? It’s fronted by Dakota Fanning (see above), who is around 17, if that helps you place Oh, Lola! on the target market time line.
Oh, Lola! is exactly as advertised. They’ve toned down the floral notes in the heart and amped up the fruit notes in the opening; the base is a slightly paler version of Lola’s woody-musky trail…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
22 June 2011
Ginger beer, ginger ale, ginger tea. Ginger-molasses cake with crystallized-ginger-and-cream-cheese frosting. Ginger ice cream. Ginger-y Southeast Asian soups. These are some of my favorite ginger-flavored drinks and foods. Ginger in fragrances? I don’t think ginger has been ‘served’ in perfume as well as other gourmand notes like vanilla, cocoa, cardamom, nutmeg or fruits. Bite into a fresh, crunchy ginger rhizome — has its zing, its heat, ever been realistically represented in a perfume? Is it even possible to do so?
This spring two ginger fragrances have been released: Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme Cologne Gingembre and Marc Jacobs Ginger (part of the Marc Jacobs Splash collection).
Original Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme is a bore. Yves Saint Laurent Cologne Gingembre takes us from ‘boredom’ to “queasiness.” Cologne Gingembre includes notes of bergamot, aquatic accord, ginger, white pepper, violet leaves, basil, cedar wood, oak moss, vetiver and musk…
Read the rest of this article »
